Monday, August 27, 2012

Comic Oddities: NODDY'S TALL BOOKS (1960)

Although The Dandy was the first comic I had regularly it wasn't the first comic I actually read. For years I've thought it was a Christmas 1963 issue of Yogi Bear's Own that was my introduction to comics, but recently I realised that I must have read Huckleberry Hound Chuckleberry Time before that.

However, after sorting out some old stuff to throw out / sell I found a couple of comics that I remembered having even before the aforementioned titles. Dated 1960 (when I was just a year old) I must have had them a couple of years later, when I was 2 or 3. I think it's safe to say that Noddy's Tall Red Book and the Tall Yellow Book were the first comics I read (or had read to me). I recall there was also a Tall Green Book, that seems to have been lost in the time stream. Sorry about the condition of the books in these photos, but I was only a toddler at the time...

Make no mistake, these are comics, not picture books, using Enid Blyton's famous Noddy character in what I think are new stories. An unusual format, but definitely all-comic strip material. Each "book" measures 7.5cm wide by 26cm high and has just 12 pages. Each spread features a complete comic strip, so there are five stories in all. Each page is read from top to bottom before doing the same with the corresponding page. Here's the opening strip from the Red Book which must be the first in the series as it introduces Noddy...

In typical British comics subversive fashion, Noddy almost drives into a policeman, and that's the end of the story so he gets away with it. In another strip, the residents of Toytown think Noddy himself has been run over. It's panic in the streets until Noddy reassures them he's ok...

In the next story, Noddy has his car nicked by a bad goblin, but luckily Big Ears is around to dish out some instant justice. I'm not sure what the sailor's doing in the background...

In the Yellow Book, Noddy doesn't show an ounce of gratitude to Big Ears for rescuing his car. Buying a gun from a grinning merchant in a backstreet shop he shoots Big Ears in the face and gut, laughing while he commits the foul deed, making The Joker look like an amateur in comparison...

Ok, it was a pop-gun, but being shot in the face by a cork would still hurt. Sadistic little git isn't he? You could take someones eye out with that.

I don't know how many of these comics were published. As I said, I had three, but if they were based on basic colours there couldn't have been many more. Anyone else out there remember these comics?To read the strips, click on the images to open in another page, then click again to see them larger.

Tyndall did a number of Noddy books, and is now a Fine Art Painter. He also did the artwork for the Adventures of Twizzle Comic, Larry the Lamb strips from TV Land Magazine (it's a shame only one episode of Twizzle is around there days...). He also has appeared at the Enid Blyton day event in 2006.

About this blog:

Established in 2006, BLIMEY! is dedicated to British comics past and present. Images are copyright their respective publishers and are only used here for review purposes.

The images of comics on my blog are scanned from my own personal comics collection or, in the case of some current issues, are promotional images sent to me by the publishers. On the rare occasion when I might use an image from another site I always credit the source. If you take images I've scanned to use on your own blog/site I'd appreciate it if you'd have the good manners to show the same courtesy.

I operate zero tolerance to websites or blogs that indulge in wholesale piracy of comics. If you're a genuine comics fan, support the industry by buying the comics.

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About Me

I work as a professional humour comics artist and writer and have been freelancing full time since 1984, creating many characters such as TOM THUG, PETE AND HIS PIMPLE, COMBAT COLIN, BRICKMAN, ROBO-CAPERS, DEREK THE TROLL, SUBURBAN SATANISTS and others.
I've freelanced for IPC, Marvel Comics, Egmont, Panini,D.C. Thomson, and many others, covering the comics field from originated characters to licensed properties, pre-school to adult on comics such as BUSTER, OINK!, BEANO, DANDY, TRANSFORMERS, SONIC THE COMIC, TOXIC, VIZ, CiTV TELLYTOTS, LEGO ADVENTURES, HERMAN HEDNING, SWEET FA, ACTION FORCE, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, RAMPAGE, LUCKY BAG COMIC, SWIFTSURE, WARLOCK, WHITE DWARF, ACES WEEKLY, THE DAREDEVILS, THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL, and many more.
My recent comics work has included:'Team Toxic' for Egmont's TOXIC magazine'Postman Prat', 'Kid Cops' and 'The Dark Newt' for THE DANDY'Rasher', 'Pup Parade', 'Lord Snooty' and 'Ivy the Terrible' for THE BEANO.
'The Daft Dimension' for DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE.